Female undergarment



Aug. 4, 1953 KAUFMAN FEMALE UNDERGARMENT FiJ-ed'May 21,19,418

IN V EN TOR;

Afforws I Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEMALE:UNDERGARMENT Sandor Kaufman, Yonkers, N. Y. Application May 21, 1948,Serial No. 28,311

' (or 24s 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to female undergarments in the nature of slipsand the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a female undergarment in thenature of a slip and the like, of improved and novel construction anddesign, whereby' the fit and wearing qualities thereof upon the body ofthe wearer are considerably perfected and enhanced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a female undergarment inthe nature of a slip and the like, which includes a waist portion and askirt portion, and novel means for interconnecting said waist portionand skirt portion, so that no undue stress or strains are imposed uponthe said slip portions adjacent their area of interconnection, thusincreasing the durability of the slip, and decreasing the likelihood ofaccidental ripping or tearing thereof at the seams.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a female slip, novelconstruction about the waistline thereof, so that the garment is easilyput on and taken off by the wearer without the need for opening orclosing any portion of the garment in the waistline region to permit itspassing over the head and shoulders of the wearer, while at the sametime avoiding use of any undue excess of material thereat, so that theappearance of the slip is improved.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved slipconstruction including a skirt portion and a waist portion which are.interconnected both through stitching directly through abutting edges ofsaid skirt and waist portions, and also through an elastic waist bandoverlying the said directly stitched seam between said skirt and waistportions and stitched along opposite margins of said elastic waist bandto said skirt and Waist portions respectively, whereby said elasticwaist band takes up any up-anddown stress across said direct seam.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved slipconstruction in which the waist and skirt portions are interconnected bymeansof 1 a resilient waist band stitched respectively to said waist andskirt portions at opposite margins of said. resilient waist band, and inwhich said waist and skirt portions are also directly interconnected bystitching at their mutually overlapping seams, and wherein a certaindegree of looseness of the waist and skirt portion fabric is allowedbetween the oppositely stitched margins of the resiliently acting waistband so that upand-down stresses are absorbed by yielding of theresilient waist band in a corresponding direction, said portion of thewaist and skirt which 2 overlies said resilient waistband, beingresiliently shirred under the influence of the longitudinal unstretchedlength of the resilient Waist band, whereby the undergarment is free toyield in the region of the waistline thereof as needed both to fit thebody of the wearer and to permit easy placement upon and removal fromthe body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slip which is simplein design, inexpensive to manufacture, attractive in appearance, andcomfortable to wear.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a preferred embodiment thereof asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which: v I

Figure 1 is an elevational view of my improved female slip as. worn,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail elevation of the mid-section or waistlineregion of the slip shown in Figure 1, the view being partly broken outto illustrate the construction, I

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2', theview being partly broken out to illustrate the construction slightlybelow'the plane of the section,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken substantially online 4-4 of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view taken looking from theinterior of the garment toward thev interior wall thereof substantiallyin the direction of the arrow 5 in Figure 3, looking towards theintersection of the waistline interconnecting seam with one of theup-and-down seams, the parts being shown as partly ripped apart at theseseams to Show the construction.

In the design and manufacture of female un-v dergarments in thenature oislips and the like, it is of utmost importance that the garment both fitwell and look well upon the wearerfs figure. It is necessary, for thispurpose, to give special attention to the waistline of the garment, formaximum conformance to the contour of the body and for maximum comfortto the wearer; Where resilient means are employed to assist in thispurpose, they should notmar the reappearance of the undergarment itself,and in tact, when employed. according to this, in ention, actually makeit more attractive than usual. In addition, the usually constrictedportion of the garment'in the waistline region, according to thisinvention, easily when \puttingit onor taking it on, to readily passoverthe shoulders of the wearer with a maximum. of rcomfort.

In order to understand clearly thenartnre of aemgeeo the invention, andthe best means for carrying it out, reference may now be had to thedrawings, in which like numbers denote similar parts throughout theseveral views.

As shown, my improved slip includes a bodice or waist portion generallyindicated at [0, and a skirt portion generally indicated at l2, thewaist region being located at I4. The waist portion 10 is formed offront and rear main panels l6 and I8 which are interconnected at theirabutting left and right sides respectively, by up and down seamsstitched together as at 28 and 22.

The front panel I6 is also gored as shown at 24 and 26 in Figure l, toaccommodate the natural fullness of the figure of the wearer in thatregion. The upper edges of the waist portion of the slip may be trimmedwith lace as shown at 28, and lace shoulder straps 30 and 32 may beemployed as illustrated, to interconnect the front and rear panelsacross the shoulders of the wearer. Left and right drawstrings 34 and 36may be interlaced through the openings in the lace trimmings 28 on eachside of the front panel l6, being tied together in an attractive bow asat 40. The drawstrings 34 and 36 may be made of ribbon either in thesame color as the lace 28, or in a contrasting color, to enhance theattractive appearance of the garment. The drawstrings 34 and 36, theouter ends of which may conveniently be terminated in the left and rightside a seams 28 and 22 respectively, thus permit such further adjustmentof the fit along the upper region as may be desired by the wearer.

The skirt portion I2 of the slip may be formed of front and rear panels42 and 44, stitched together at their left and right sides by simpleseams at 4B and 48 respectively, extending in an up and down direction,along the sides of the slip. Along the lower edge of the skirt portionof the slip, a shirred hem is affixed at 50 by stitching as at 52', andthe hem 56 may be trimmed along its lower edge by lace 54 if desired.

The waist portion I of the slip and the skirt portion l2 areinterconnected in the waistline region thereof, in the manner which willbe now described. First, I stitch the abutting marginal edges of theupper front and rear panels l6 and IE to the abutting upper marginaledges 56 and 58 in overlying relation as best shown in Figures 4 and 5,the stitching 60 thus interconnecting only these marginal edges 56 and58 with the corresponding lower marginal edges 62 and 64 of the upperslip panels l6 and I8.

I then take a single continuous ribbon or band of resilient elasticmaterial 66, having first turned the slip inside out, and dispose thiselas-. tic ribbon or band 66 in overlying relation to the waistline seamformed by the stitching 66 directly interconnecting the waist and skirtportions of the slip. However, I select elastic ribbon or band 66 of anormal unstretched length which is less than the total circumferentialinside length of the unshirred slip at the waistline. I then stitch theelastic band 66 in overlying relation to the seam 10 in the manner shownin Figures 4 and 5, so that the elastic band 66 draws the overlyingmaterial of the upper and lower margins respectively of the waist andskirt portions laterally thereover,-that is to say, the stitching of theelastic band 66 to the overlying portions of the waist and skirtportions of the slip is so accomplished along the stitching lines 12 and14 respectively, that the overlying fabric of the waist and skirtportions of the slip are shirred and assume theappearance illustratedquite clearly at 16 when viewed from the outside of the garment.

The result is, not only to considerably enhance the external appearanceof the slip, as is obvious from the illustrations in Figures 1 and 2,but also to conceal the waistline seam 10 thereunder, and also to makefor a fine degree of fit of the garment about the Waist of the wearer.The stitching of the elastic band 66 in position on the inside surface80 of the slip, may be accomplished in various ways. For example, theelastic band 66 may be stretched until its full length is equal to thewaist size of the garment when unshirred, and then the elastic stitchedat 12 and 14 as shown. 0r, if desired, the unstretched elastic band 66may be disposed so as to underlie the fabric portions of the waist andskirt portions of the slip, and automatic shirring devices may beemployed to gather the fabric between adjacent stitches to shirr thesame over the elastic As a result, the garment is pleasingly shirred inthe waistline region, and is adapted to yield laterally to fit the waistof the wearer without undue binding. Inaddition, it will be observedthat the seam 60 of the slip, which directly interconnects the waist andskirt portions thereof, is entirely concealed from observation. Andfurther, it will be noted that the fabric between the stitching lines 12and 14 is looser in a vertical direction than the elastic waistband 66,so that any tension in a vertical direction is taken up first by theelastic waistband 68 and does not stress the stitching 60 at all, andthus avoids tearing the seam 66. The elastic band 66 may also be made ofelastic grosgrain having more resilience longitudinally thantransversely.

Accordingly a slip constructed according to this invention will haveimproved fit and wearing qualities, and yet may be manufactured at lowcost, and will be quite attractive.

If desired, the invention may also be applied to one piece slips, thatis, slips in which the waist and skirt portions are formed from the samepiece of fabric without the seam at 60. The elastic band, according tothis modified form, is disposed so as to underlie the waistline insidethe garment, the construction being the same except that the seam 60 iseliminated.

Although I have described my invention in specific terms, it will beunderstood that it also includes any variations in size, shape,materials and arrangement, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A female undergarment in the nature of a slip and the like,comprising a waist portion having a lower marginal area normally greaterin circumferential extent than the waist of the wearer which it is toencircle, a skirt portion having an upper marginal area normally greaterin circumferential extent that the waist of the wearer which it is toencircle, first stitching means directly interconnecting said lowermarginal area of said waist portion with said upper marginal area ofsaid skirt portion, and a resilient band overlying said first stitchihgmeans and secured at an upper marginal portion to said waist portion ofsaid garment and secured at a lower marginal portion to said skirtportion of said garment, and in which said resilient band is formed ofresilient material overlying said first stitching means and secured atits upper margin to said waist portion only of said garment and securedat its lower margin to both said waist and skirt portions of saidgarment by direct stitching therethrough.

2. A female undergarment in the nature of a slip and the like,comprising a waist portion having a lower marginal area normally greaterin circumferential extent than the waist of the wearer which it is toencircle, a skirt portion having an upper marginal area normally greaterin circumferential extent than the waist of the wearer which it is toencircle, first stitching means directly interconnecting said lowermarginal area of said waist portion with said upper marginal area ofsaid skirt portion and forming a first seam, and a resilient handoverlying said first seam, said resilient band normally whenunstretched, being of lesser circumferential extent than the waist ofthe wearer which it is to encircle, said fabric of said waist and skirtportion marginal areas which are mutually interconnected at said firstseam, being gathered along the circumferential extent of the said firstseam and stitched so that the marginal area of said waist portion isstitched to the upper edge area of said resilient band and the marginalarea of said skirt portion is stitched to the lower edge area of saidresilient band, and whereby a slip is formed the waist line of which isresiliently biased to snugly embrace the waist line of the wearer, andin which there is second stitching means and third stitching means, andin which said resilient band is secured by said second stitching meansdirectly extending through the lower marginal area of said resilientband and through both said abutting margin-a1 areas of said waist andskirt portions, and in which said resilient band is secured by saidthird stitching means directly extending through the upper marginal areaof said resilient band and through the underlying area of said waistportion, whereby said second stitching means is concealed from view ofthe onlooker from the outside of the garment.

SANDOR KAUFMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 912,834 Epstein et al Feb. 16, 1909 1,237,394 Schultz Aug. 21,1917 1,648,580 Dewey Nov. 8, 1927 1,950,045 Canady et al Mar. 6, 19342,125,495 French Aug. 2, 1938 2,247,784 Presser July 1, 1941 2,343,374Hargreaves Mar. '7, 1944 2,443,951 Fenton June 22, 1948

